A Texas judge blocked President Obama’s bid to expand overtime pay protections to millions of Americans on Tuesday, thwarting a key presidential priority just days before it was to take effect.
The Labor Department rule doubles the salary level at which hourly workers must be paid extra for overtime pay, applying the requirement to anyone making up to $47,476 annually. U.S. District Court Judge Amos L. Mazzant III sided with Nevada and 20 other states in their bid to halt the rule, and he incorporated a similar legal challenge from a coalition of business groups including the Chamber of Commerce into his ruling.
The ruling also dealt a late blow to Obama’s effort to build a legacy based largely on his use of executive power. He moved without Congress on climate, immigration and foreign policy, gambling that his successor would preserve his actions. Donald Trump’s election all but guaranteed that much of Obama’s work will be undone. Much of the legal opposition to Obama took root in Texas; the state has sued the administration more than 45 times and its attorney general co-led the overtime lawsuit.
View Article